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Multidimensional child poverty and disadvantage

Tackling 'data exclusion' and extending the evidence base on missing and 'invisible' children

A programme of research funded by the The Nuffield Foundation and led by CASE, May 2015 - March 2018.
The Nuffield Foundation

The central objective of this project is to improve understanding of multidimensional poverty and disadvantage as experienced by children and young people in Britain. The findings will address an important gap in the research literature by providing a new quantitative evidence base on four groups of children:

  • Young carers
  • Children from the Gypsy and Traveller ethnic minority group
  • Children from the Roma, Gypsy and Traveller ethnic minority group
  • Children at risk of abuse or neglect

The research will use seven different data sets to build up evidence across four critical domains of life: standard of living, health, education and learning, and physical security.

The central research questions are:

  1. What is the extent of poverty and multidimensional disadvantage among these groups of children?
  2. How does this compare to the general population of children?
  3. To what extent is being a member of one of these groups associated with an increased risk of poverty and disadvantage, independently of other characteristics?
  4. How does the risk of poverty and disadvantage vary within each of the three groups?
  5. What are the implications for the measurement and understanding of child poverty and disadvantage more generally?

Programme Launch: Building up the data infrastructure on missing and invisible children

The report launch was held at LSE on 2nd March 2018 and was attended by stakeholders, policymakers and academics. An overview of findings from the project as a whole, summaries of in depth findings from each of the project workstreams and recommendations looking forward were presented.

[mp3] Listen to the recording of the presentations.

Speakers (Report authors): Polly Vizard (Associate Director of CASE, Associate Professional Research Fellow), Tania Burchardt (Director of CASE, Associate Professor in Social Policy, LSE), Polina Obolenskaya (Research Officer, CASE)

Respondents: Leon Feinstein (Director of Evidence, Children's Commissioner of England), Dr. Kitty Stewart (Associate Director of CASE, Associate Professor in Social Policy, LSE)

Chair: Kerris Cooper (CASE)

Presentation slides are available to download here:

  • Child poverty amongst young carers in the UK: Prevalence and trends in the wake of the financial crisis, economic downturn and onset of austerity , Polly Vizard, Polina Obolenskaya and Tania Burchardt
  • Tackling the data deficit: an analysis of multidimensional disadvantage among Roma, Gypsy and Traveller children in England & Wales, Tania Burchardt, Polina Obolenskaya, Polly Vizard and Mario Battaglini
  • Child poverty and deprivation among recent migrant families in the UK, Polina Obolenskaya, Tania Burchardt, Isabel Shutes, and Polly Vizard

    The launch event also included a presentation by Leon Feinstein (Director of Evidence, Children's Commissioner for England) on the links between the project and the Children's Commissioner for England workstream on vulnerable children.

  • Developing links with the Children's Commissioner for England in the context of the development of its Vulnerability Report 2018

    This presentation about the project was given by Tania Burchardt at the University of Glasgow, Q-Step Centre Celebration Lecture on 18th May 2018.